Idea

First Idea

My first idea was to have two female characters sit in a room together and act as though they where old ladies chatting over cups of tea. I thought this would be a very good way to create a comical radio drama as hearing these two old ladies chatting about fun subjects or it would be interpreted as ridiculous humour.

Second Idea

My second idea was to make a radio drama loosely around mental health. The way I would do this is to have a young girl, most likely in high school, be very interested in bird watching. She would be well known around high school for liking birds but she would also be known for being depressed or alone. She would say to people that she wishes that she could fly. And one day there would be an assemble at her school where the teachers tell the students that the girl that liked burd watching had jumped off of a building and died later that day in hospital. The way I would present this idea to the viewer is by getting the young girl to narrate the majority of the radio drama until the part where she jumps which is where the mood would change and that is where the teacher will start speaking about the accident.

Third Idea

My first idea was to make a Saturday Drama - this is to entertain and amuse my target audience whilst providing them with escapism. This is to be aired on BBC Radio 3 as the target audience are males, aged 65+ and are in the audience demographic is ABC1. To do this, my radio drama was going to be a crime-related incident where a young male (most likely 20-30 years old, English) My original idea was to have a young male speaking his confession about the murder he committed. He was going to start by expressing that he was sorry and that he had done something bad. Then, I was planning on having a flashback to the actual murder - we'll hear him murder the person (with something blunt as I cannot get a sound of a gun likely due to someone falling over) and then the flashback is done. Next, we will hear him plan to run away but then the sound of police cars will start in the distance. The genre of my radio advert is a crime drama/ thriller.

Treatment

Working Title - I'm Sorry.

Genre - Radio Drama

Target Audience - Males, ages 65+ in the target demographic of ABC1. Stereotypically, males are more likely to listen to crime related media products and as I want my radio drama to be aired on BBC Radio 3 men aged 65+ will be most likely to be listening to this radio station. I feel also that this target group will be more likely to enjoy my drama and feel compelled to talk about it to others.

Outline - A young man called Elijah Reed confesses that he had 'accidentally' murdered someone whilst committing a different crime - which was not murder.

Character Breakdown - My main character is a 23 year old male called Elijah Reed, he is British and unemployed with a tendency to break into people's houses with his accomplice Kelly James (a 24 year old female who is also British and unemployed). They are caught by a young police officer who responded to a call of a potential break-in, his name is Ryan Pefitt.

Audio Elements -

• Effects (Foley) - there will be some sounds such as the stumbling of feet and police car sirens in the background to further convey the seriousness of the situation.
• Music -  there will not be any music so that the drama is more tense and so that the audience do not become distracted and do not listen to the story.

Rationale - I chose this idea because I wanted to relate my three projects (documentary, radio drama and website design) to crime, however, I have changed my mind about the other two and decided that the genres will all be different. The reason that I think this radio drama will be successful is because it is not very often you hear someone who has committed a crime confess that they have done it. Due to this, I think my audience will enjoy hearing someone confess as it will bring a sense of justice.

Requirements and Resources - For this radio drama I will be using only a microphone and the Adobe Audition editing software to create all of my radio drama and its scenes. I will not be needing anything else as there is no visual elements to this.

Constraints and Contingency - The main problem is time. Due to the amount of time left before the deadline, I need to have enough time to get the voice-actors to record the scenes, I need to edit the audio and I need to write my evaluation.



First Attempt at a Script

I'm Sorry.

by H.J.Ward

SCENE 1. NIGHT - DARK ROOM IN HOUSE

(SOUND OF HEAVY BREATHING - FROM ONE INDIVIDUAL. RUSTLING HEARD FROM A CHAIR OR BED DIPPING AS SOMEONE SITS ON IT. LACK OF ECHO AS ROOM HAS LOTS OF FURNITURE - ROOM IS IN A MODERN ENGLISH HOUSE, 2017. QUIETLY, A MAN STARTS SPEAKING)

ELIJAH REED:        "SOMETHING HAPPENED. I DID SOMETHING... BAD. BUT IT WASN'T MY FAULT. NOT THAT THEY'LL BELIEVE THAT... IT WAS DARK AND THERE WAS BARELY ANY ROOM TO MOVE AROUND... AND WE FELL... THEN WE RAN AND I LEFT HIM THERE..."

(SOUND OF A FLASHBACK - LIKE A TELEPORT SOUND)

KELLY JAMES:        "JESUS, WHY IS IT SO DARK, ELI? CAN YOU FIND THE LIGHT?"

ELIJAH REED:        "I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO MOVE. MAYBE WE SHOULD LEAVE... FORGET THIS WHOLE ORDEAL, KELLY"

KELLY JAMES:        "NO ELI, WE PLANNED THIS WHOLE THING WEEKS AGO, YOU CAN'T PUT IT OFF ANYMORE, THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO DO IT - THE OWNERS ARE AWAY THIS WEEKEND ANYWAY! JUST FIND THE LIGHT."

ELIJAH REED:        "OKAY OKAY... JUST, STAND THERE, DON'T MOVE."

KELLY JAMES:        "ALRIGHT."

(FOOTSTEPS ARE HEARD ON A WOODEN FLOOR, FOLLOWED WITH THE CREAK OF FLOOR BOARDS. A LIGHT SWITCH FLICKS AND KELLY SIGHS)

KELLY JAMES:        "OKAY, LOOK AROUND, BAG WHATEVER LOOKS EXPENSIVE, LEAVE THE REST..."


ELIJAH REED:        "GOT IT."


(RUSTLING IS HEARD FOR A FEW SECONDS, FOLLOWED BY THE A FAINT OPENING OF A DOOR IN THE DISTANCE. ALL MOVEMENTS STOP AFTER THE DOOR CLOSES)


KELLY JAMES (WHISPERING):         "ELI, WAS THAT YOU?"


ELIJAH REED (WHISPERING):         "NO... IT WASN'T."


KELLY JAMES (WHISPERING):         "SHIT..."


RYAN PEFITT:        "THIS IS THE POLICE, IF THERE'S ANYONE IN HERE COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD!"


ELIJAH REED (WHISPERING):         "KELLY, JUST HIDE, DON'T LEAVE."


KELLY JAMES (WHISPERING):         "DO YOU HAVE YOUR KNIFE?"


ELIJAH REED (WHISPERING):         "YES, NOW HIDE."


(LIGHT FOOTSTEPS HEARD AS KELLY AND ELIJAH HIDE. HEAVIER FOOTSTEPS APPROACH (RYAN PEFITT))


RYAN PEFITT:        "YOU CAN'T BE IN HERE- AAH!"


(TWO LOUD SHOUTS FOLLOWED BY THE SOUND OF SOMEONE FALLING OVER CAN BE HEARD AND HEAVY BREATHING)


KELLY JAMES:        "JESUS ELIJAH WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM? IS HE DEAD?"


ELIJAH REED:        "I DIDN'T... HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE! I JUST WANTED TO BUY US SOME TIME!"


KELLY JAMES:        "SHIT, WE NEED TO FUCKING GO, LIKE NOW!"


(THE SOUND OF TWO PEOPLE RUNNING AWAY CAN BE HEARD, FOLLOWED BY THE SOUND OF A DOOR SLAMMING SHUT. THE SOUND OF THE FLASHBACK CAN BE HEARD AGAIN)


ELIJAH REED:        "KELLY... SHE MUST HAVE TOLD SOMEONE, PROBABLY THE POLICE FOR HER IMMUNITY. THE STUPID BITCH, IF SHE'D OF JUST SHUT UP WE WOULD'VE BEEN FINE!"


(A SIGH FROM ELIJAH)


ELIJAH REED:        "I DIDN'T MEAN TO... WE JUST FELL AND THE KNIFE DIDN'T GO WHERE I WANTED IT TO GO AND... I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY FOR THE POLICE OFFICER. I'M SORRY FOR THE FAMILY THAT FOUND HIM IN THEIR HOUSE. I'M SORRY FOR THE FAMILY WHO LOST HIM. I'M SO SO SORRY... I DON'T WANT TO GO TO PRISON."


(POLICE SIRENS CAN BE HEARD IN THE DISTANCE, SLOWLY GETTING LOUDER AS THEY APPROACH THE HOUSE ELIJAH IS IN)


ELIJAH REED (SOUNDS LIKE HE IS CRYING):        "PLEASE... I'M SORRY."